


Lost and Found

by exceptionallyordinarymarauder



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 18:06:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10904622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exceptionallyordinarymarauder/pseuds/exceptionallyordinarymarauder
Summary: I’m the one who lurks in the shadows,The one walking untrodden paths,Just to escape your eyes.I’m the one who holds her tongueAnd keeps her eyes cast-downSpinning a web of lies.After a chance encounter at the beginning of their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Sirius Black and Echo Nichols’s paths keep crossing. This might have something to do with the fact that for some reason, Sirius seems to think that there is more uniting the two of them than similarly screwed up names. Little does he know; he has his work cut out for him with her.





	1. Prologue

Prologue  
Just like every day, King’s Cross Station was swamped with people. Nothing out of the ordinary at that. What was in fact different from every other day were the kind of people you found weaving through the crowds there. Most of them were just your average Londoners, waiting for their train to arrive with a newspaper or a snack in their hands. Nevertheless, every now and then, these people would look over some passers-by and give a hearty chuckle or simply shake their heads. Very peculiar, the habits some people were adopting these days. On this particular day, September 1 of the year 1976, there seemed to be many occasions at which the average Londoner would mull over the strange attire of random fellow citizens, who, to them, seemed like they had gotten dressed in the dark. Or over their choice of pets and toys, as lots of the children and young people passing them seemed to carry cages with owls or toads. Sometimes, these Londoners would occasionally hear mention of things or words they had never heard of in their lives, like Muggles or Hogwarts or – even more peculiar – Platform 9 ¾. Platform 9 ¾, honestly. There was no such thing.   
Weaving my way through the crowd, I smirked at the sight of a Muggle man, dressed in a suit and carrying a laptop, giving our little group a most curious look. I supposed there was nothing much odd about the sight of us, ignoring the fact that my friend James was carrying a cage with a beautiful black owl in it. Still, people might not even have given it much notice, the regulars at King’s Cross Station had gotten accustomed to odd sights, if the owl – Ramses – had not felt the urge to start shrieking in indignation the moment we had left the Potter’s car. But well, just let him look.   
Having reached our destination, my friends and I looked around seemingly casually, checking to see if anyone was still watching us. Satisfied, Remus and Peter headed straight for the wall in front of them and the moment they ought to have hit it, they just disappeared.   
To the average Londoner, this wall might seem just that… a perfectly ordinary wall. But our lot knew that there was much more to it than that. To us, it was not just a wall. It was the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾, the barrier that led to Hogwarts. Our lot, that is to say, wizards and witches.   
James turned around to look at me, giving me a bright smile. “Ready, mate?”   
I gave him a grin in return and nodded. “Ready when you are.”   
Almost simultaneously, we pushed our luggage towards the wall, Ramses giving one last ear-splitting shriek before we seemed to disappear into nothingness.   
The Muggle man was rubbing his eyes, staring after the two young men, who seemed to have just vanished on the spot, in confusion. After a few moments of befuddled daze, he shook his head with a chuckle. He really should have gotten more sleep that night. People just vanishing into thin air, like magic, there was no such thing as that. With an amused smile at his own stupidity for thinking such a thing, he settled back into his seat and flipped open his laptop, going about his usual ways. Unaware of the fact that there was much more to this world than he was or would ever be aware of. For there was indeed such a thing as magic. Even though only those in the know would ever realize it for what it was.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Sirius

“I swear the first years are getting smaller each year! Just look at them, they’re tiny!” James waved his hand in the direction of a group of first-years huddling around their parents with either anxious or excited looks on their faces. Remus next to me just snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes at our friend. Whereas James was hurrying along a few steps ahead of us, eager to get on the train as soon as possible to escape all the chaos surrounding us, Remus, Peter and I took our time, letting our eyes roam over the crowds of students and their parents in front of the scarlet steam train.   
Only two more years at Hogwarts. This was the second to last time I would see all of this. This thought made my stomach flip uncomfortably despite myself. No, I must not let myself dwell on that. Two years was a long time still. Nevertheless, as I looked at the excited first-years, who were about to see our school for the very first time, I would have given almost anything to switch places with them.   
“You all right there, Padfoot?” Remus’s voice snapped me out of my musings and as I gave him a quick smile and a nod, I could tell that he was not convinced. Remus always saw more than was good for him. Too damn observant for his own good, that guy. And especially when it came to one of his friends, he was not easily fooled. Still, he didn’t press me for the truth and settled instead for a brief smile of his own and a gentle nudge with his elbow.   
Following James and Peter onto the train, the two of us made our way past our fellow students, while our two friends were trudging on ahead, looking for a compartment. After countless greetings to fellow Gryffindors and a number of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws (and a few insults directed at the odd Slytherin), James seemed to finally have been successful in finding an empty compartment.   
“All right, mates. Here we go.” He pushed the door open with a flourish and stepped in, immediately flopping down into a seat. “Oh hey, sorry, I didn’t see you there.”   
As it turned out, the compartment was not empty after all. My gaze immediately snapped towards the immobile figure huddled into the seat right next to the window. From where I was currently standing, I could not even tell whether it was a boy or a girl because he, she, it was wearing a long dark cloak with a hood and faced away from me. Who in their right mind would choose to wear a cloak at this time of year? It was still bloody warm out.   
“James. Obviously the compartment is not empty, so what exactly are you still doing in here?” I raised my eyebrows in question at my best friend, who was currently in the process of getting comfortable in the seat he had chosen, casting a curious glance in the direction of the stranger next to the window.   
“Well, every other compartment is already full. It was your own fault, by the way. You’re the reason we are so late... So come on in and deal with it. She’s sleeping anyway.”   
Ah, so it was a girl. Still scowling, I cast another displeased look at the sleeping girl. We had always had a compartment to ourselves. Ever since first-year, when Lily Evans and Snivellus had stormed out in indignation. Gits. I was not happy with this development. The train ride was the time when we would discuss our holidays and the plans for any new pranks to liven things up a bit at school. By our luck, that girl would probably be a prefect. Well, Remus was one as well, but as he was one of us, he would never turn us in.   
With a sigh, Remus pushed past me. “For God’s sake, Padfoot. It’s not a big deal, just sit down already.” He sat down in the seat next to the girl, opening the book he had carried in his hand, the moment he got comfortable.   
Grudgingly, I made my way over to join them and got into the seat next to the window, opposite the strange girl. Since the others knew how much I loved watching the other people on the platform during the train’s departure, the seat by the window had always been mine by some sort of unspoken law.   
Not paying any attention to my friends’ babbling, I looked out of the window and watched the people outside. Most of the older students had already gotten on the bus so there were pretty much only the first years left, who were still reluctant to leave their families. One little boy was practically clinging to his mother, a terrified look on his face. She patted his back with a sad smile and then pulled back and bent down to say something to him, before pulling him into a tight hug, while a man – presumably the father – was standing right behind the two of them, not taking his eyes off them for a second, a proud smile on his face. Once again, I could feel my stomach flipping unpleasantly. Must be great to have such a loving family. I wouldn’t know.   
Wherever I looked, families said their goodbyes. Some of these were rather hurried, as the train was about to leave any minute now, whereas others were particularly drawn out and even involved tears. Finally, even the last of the first-years had gotten on the train and slowly but surely, the Hogwarts Express set into motion. With a deep sigh, I looked at the flock of parents waving after the slowly departing train. Some with bright, proud smiles on their faces, some with tears in their eyes.   
I swallowed heavily, tearing my eyes away from their faces. As I let my gaze roam the compartment instead, my eyes fell onto the girl sitting right across from me. The train’s departure seemed to have woken her up, as she was stretching a little, her gaze jumping from each of our faces to the other, still blinking sleepily. Finally, her eyes met mine.   
“And just who the hell are you?” My voice came out harsher than I had meant but contrary to most people, the girl didn’t even flinch. She just dropped her gaze and pulled the sleeves of her cloak over her hands.   
“Me? I’m nobody.”


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Echo  
Steely grey eyes were boring into my light blue ones.   
“And just who the hell are you?”  
Dropping my gaze to the ground to avoid his eyes, I just shrugged and pulled the sleeves of my cloak over my hands, holding on tight to the worn fabric.   
“Me? I’m nobody.”   
I held my breath as I pulled at a loose thread, looking out of the window to see Platform 9 ¾ rapidly disappearing into the distance, trying with all my might to avoid the gaze of the boy sitting opposite me.   
He wouldn’t know me, of course. But I knew him. Sirius Black, Hogwarts heartthrob, playboy and pretty much the most infamous one of the so-called Marauders. They were known not only for their prank and mischief making around school but also for their striking good looks in the cases of Sirius Black and James Potter and for their tendency to pick on the Slytherins.   
So far, I had managed the impossible – to stay out of the way of the Marauders. Apparently, today was the day my luck ran out, as I was apparently to share a compartment with all four of them. Loud, obnoxious, troublemakers – they were everything I tended to steer clear of.   
“You’re Echo, right?” Startled, my head whipped around to look at the boy sitting next to me. Brown-blond hair, hazel eyes and a warm smile – Remus Lupin. The quiet one of this lot.   
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Black slowly turn his head to look at his friend. Before I even had the time to reply to Lupin, Black raised his eyebrows in question. “You know her, Remus?”   
Lupin rolled his eyes. “Yes and so do you.”   
As Black didn’t answer and just kept looking at him blankly, he sighed and shook his head.   
“Honestly, Sirius, you can be so… oblivious. Not only is she in our year, she’s also a Gryffindor. She’s in pretty much every one of my classes. Meaning she’s in your Transfiguration, Charms and Potions class, genius!”   
Black’s eyes met mine one again. “You are?” Once again, I felt the need to escape the intensity radiating from his gaze and quickly looked down onto my lap, letting my hair fall in front of my face. Instead of replying, I just shrugged again. Suffice it to say, I was not good with people, preferring to be on my own. Therefore, my people skills were severely lacking.   
“Cat got your tongue?” Black again. I could feel his eyes on me and could feel goose bumps spreading across my skin. If there was anything I hated more than attention in general, it was someone staring at me.   
“Padfoot.” The soft reprimand coming from the boy to my right finally seemed to make Black snap his gaze away from me.   
“Back off.” Lupin only murmured the words but I could still hear him just fine. Just like I was able to hear Black’s annoyed huff.   
Lupin shifted next to me and suddenly a hand appeared in front of my face.   
“I don’t think we’ve ever really spoken. I’m Remus.”   
My eyes jumped up to meet his, surprised to see his friendly smile directed at me. Reluctantly, I loosened the grip on my cloak and shook his hand very quickly.   
“I know. I’m Echo, but you obviously know that already.”   
“I hope you don’t mind us sitting with you but all of the other compartments were already full.” Why was he so insistent on making small talk with me? I was only occupying the one seat, what did I care who sat in the other five?   
I just shrugged again.   
“Not really talkative, are you?” Remus’s smile was still firmly in place and he kept watching me. As were the other three. It was making my skin crawl. Why, oh, why did I have to run into them?   
“Nope.” They seemed to be waiting for me add something but well, they obviously didn’t know me. I had already spoken more to them in the last five minutes than to some of the other girls in my dormitory in five years.   
Seeming to take the hint, Remus started a conversation with one of the other guys, Peter Pettigrew, I think he was called and I could feel my shoulders relaxing as a sigh of relief escaped me. Trying to not draw any further attention to me, I silently lowered the hood of my cloak, brushing the tumble of light brown hair out of my face.   
I hated being stared at and even though it didn’t happen often, I had developed a sensor for the rare occasions when someone’s eyes were indeed on me. Looking up, my eyes once again met those of Sirius Black opposite me, his gaze unwavering. Sharing a dormitory with three other teenage girls, I had heard a lot about this particular boy. One of my dorm mates in particular, Marlene, seemed to have carried a torch for him for years, going on and on about this stunning grey eyes and his amazing looks. Well, I had to admit that she wasn’t wrong… his eyes really were something else. I don’t actually think I had ever seen eyes like this. They weren’t just grey – more like silver… liquid silver.   
“Like what you see?” Torn out of my thoughts by his obnoxious comment, I registered that his lips had pulled into a mocking smile and he had leaned back, crossing his arms casually over his chest.   
Not deigning to reply, I simply raised one eyebrow and then turned my head away from him to look out of the window. I still felt his eyes on me, though.   
“It’s rude to stare, you know.” I didn’t even bother to look at him while uttering this sentence, letting my eyes roam the landscape outside.   
“It’s rude to ignore someone when they are talking to you, you know.”   
Once again, I didn’t reply, looking up at the sky. Ever since I was a kid I had always loved to watch the clouds. Watching them float by, trying to discover any forms, watching them change their colour as the time of day progressed. It calmed me down somehow. Watching the clouds and watching the waves, those were the only two things which ever managed to get me to calm down. To me, it was a reminder that no matter what happened in your life, the world kept turning. No matter how dark it got, there would always be a new dawn, a new morning. And maybe, just maybe, the next day would turn out better than the one before.   
I just thought I had spotted a cloud shaped like a penguin, when suddenly, a face appeared in my line of vision, way closer to my own than I preferred. Startled, I hastily drew my head back, nearly smacking it on the back of my seat in the process.   
“Jumpy, are we?” Sirius raised his eyebrows at me, the smirk still firmly in place as he looked out of the window as well. “What were you looking at?”   
“What’s it to you?” I grimaced at the way my voice came out – a lot higher than usual. This guy was making me nervous. Really really nervous. Why would he insist to talk to me? Couldn’t he just leave me alone? There were three of his friends in this compartment, why didn’t he just talk to them instead.   
“Just curious. So, are you going to answer?” His eyes met mine once again for an instant before I hastily dropped my gaze, not wanting to give him a reason to tease me again.   
“No.”   
“Padfoot, just leave her alone. She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you.” For once, I was glad for the boy sitting next to me. And… Padfoot? It obviously was a nickname for Sirius … but why Padfoot? Who came up with this ridiculous name?  
“Thanks Moony, I think gathered that. The only question is why?” For goodness’ sake, couldn’t he take his eyes off me already?   
“Hm, let me think. Uh, yeah, I can think of about ten reasons at the top of my head. Possibly more.” I could practically hear Remus smirking at his friend.   
Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I realized with relief that Sirius was now staring at Remus, crossing his arms over his chest again with a huff.   
“Oh, really? Do tell.”   
Remus’s grin widened, a mischievous look on his face as he leaned back as well, getting comfortable.   
“How about the fact that you are a cocky pushover?”   
Sirius huffed a mock-outraged snort. “I am not.”   
“Are too. But wait, there’s more: How about the fact that you can’t even look at a girl without undressing her with your eyes? Or that you can’t talk to a girl without hitting on her? Or that you are obnoxious and arrogant? That’s four now, by the way.”   
Sirius opened his mouth to reply but the boy beside him, the one I recognized as James Potter, had decided to join is as well. “You talk with food in your mouth, you are always hungry and keep wining about it, whenever you are in a bad mood you turn into a little cry baby, who won’t stop complaining. You eat our sweets behind our back and then blame Peter. You are obsessed with your hair – “   
“Oh, yeah, you’re one to talk. I might be obsessed with my hair but at least I don’t make a fool out of myself in public by acting like a loony, who keeps ruffling through his hair like he’s got lice or something just to impress Evans. Pathetic, by the way.”   
Remus shrugged at Potter, not even trying to hide his grin. “He’s got a point there, you know. Nevertheless, don’t try to distract us, Sirius, we haven’t finished yet. You are a slob, you spend hours in the bathroom ignoring the fact that you share said bathroom with three other people – “  
“ – and my personal favourite: you are one annoying little shit. Period.”   
I couldn’t help the little snort escaping me at Potter’s comment and hastily bit down onto my bottom lip. Four pairs of eyes landed on me once again. Just great. Now that Remus and James had finally managed to distract Black enough to make him leave me alone, I had had to make a sound to attract their attention again.   
“Think that’s funny, do you?” Black again.   
“Well, yes, laughter generally indicates someone thinks something is funny.” Remus’s dry remark made my lips twitch again. God, I never would have considered him to be such a sassy one. All those times I had seen him in class or in the Great Hall, he had always seemed so quiet and reserved.   
“Stop being a smartarse, Moony. And for the record, yes, I might have a few loveable little quirks – “ three loud snorts accompanied that particular statement, “but this only makes me even more a delightful human being.” Black grinned at them, obviously proud of his statement.   
“You consider yourself a human being?” Remus again. What a snarky little shit. If he kept this up I might just feel compelled to like him. “You do know that involves having feelings?”  
Black snorted. “I have feelings.”   
“Maybe you’d care to act like it then? Would make for a nice change.”   
“Oh, Moony, you’ve forgotten to elaborate on those feelings. You know, Paddy, when he says feelings, he doesn’t mean hunger or arousal. He means things like love, you know? Something you wouldn’t even recognize if it bit you in the arse.”   
“Well, I’m glad I am stranger to that particular feeling, actually. Anything to keep from turning into a delusional, pathetic idiot like you whenever you are around Evans.”   
Potter just flipped him off with a grin. “Oh, sod off, Sirius. At least, I, contrary to you, have a heart. ”   
Black laughed and pressed his hand to his chest with a mock-sorrowful expression on his face. “Ouch, you wound me. And for the record, I have a heart. It’s just as black as my name.” He gave them a playful wink, making them all groan at his bad attempt at a joke.   
“Well, at least you’ve on from the serious Sirius jokes. Those were really getting old.”   
“Oi, my jokes are always brilliant and you know it!”   
“Dream on, Pads.”   
I had kept silent during that exchange – big surprise – but had not managed to keep my lips from twitching a few times. As much as I didn’t want to admit that, I’d be lying if I said that they weren’t funny. Maybe sharing a compartment with them wouldn’t be too bad. As long as they left me alone.   
Right as this particular thought crossed my head, my eyes met Black’s again, causing him to raise own eyebrow challengingly at me. Yeah, I think I changed my mind. This train ride was going to be hell. Black would make sure of that.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Sirius  
The first thing that struck me were her eyes. I had never seen anything of the like before. Actually, it was not her eyes per se, more the lack of expression in them. In most cases, peoples’ eyes always seemed to tell a lot more than their words, telling whole stories with only one glance.   
But in her case. Nothing. There was simply nothing. No curiosity. No annoyance. Nothing at all. Maybe a bit of sleepiness, when she had first opened her eyes but apart from that, nada. To tell the truth, it was freaking me out a bit.   
As was the fact that apparently, we were not only in the same year but in the same house as well and had even shared classes for the last couple of years. How had I never noticed her? I thought I knew all of my fellow Gryffindor sixth years but apparently, I was wrong. How was it possible that for years we had been rooming in the same part of the castle, eating at the same table in the Great Hall and even sat in the very same classrooms without noticing each other?   
Who the hell was this girl? Why was she wearing such a thick cloak when it was still warm outside? Why would she just sit there the whole time and stare out of the window instead of talking to us. We were among the most popular kids in school, well-liked among the great majority of our fellow students. Well, not counting the Slytherins but that was not much of a loss.   
I had even caught her lips twitching a time or time, so she was obviously listening to us, as much as she tried to pretend otherwise. But whenever I actually tried to get her talk to me or look at me, she would just brush me off, mostly without even uttering a word. I was not used to this.   
Well, unfortunately for her, I had always loved a good challenge. The more difficult, the better. And I had yet to abandon one.   
For the rest of the ride, I would alternate between staring at her – something that was definitely making her uncomfortable, I could tell – and actually trying to engage her in a conversation. After one or two hours, I had come to the conclusion, though, that the conversation part was pretty much impossible. She would utter no more than one or two words, staring out of the window the whole time.   
Simply staring at her was much more effective. Luckily, the rest of her body seemed not to suffer from the same default of her eyes. Whenever she felt my gaze on her, her posture would grow rigid – even more so than before –, her fists would clench slightly, curling around the fabric of her coat and she started gnawing on her lip. Sometimes, her eyes would even briefly meet mine, a muscle in her jaw jumping. Yes, it was getting to her, I could tell. Therefore, I decided to abandon my attempts to talk to her and simply stare at her every now and then, letting my eyes roam her body and face.   
Well, as her cloak covered most of her body, there was not really much to see there. I noticed other things, though. For one, she was pretty, I couldn’t deny that. She had taken her hood off a little while ago, revealing long brown slightly wavy hair. It was a bit darker than Remus’s, but still a light shade of brown. Her eyes were a deep dark chocolate brown in a rather pale, heart-shaped face. There was a small, jagged scar on her chin, barely noticeable except for when in a certain light. She was rather small, the cloak nearly swallowing her up. It had to be someone else’s, as it seemed to at least two sizes too big for her, if not more.   
With still two hours to go until we would finally arrive at Hogwarts, I could feel myself growing increasingly bored. Remus had left about an hour ago to meet the other prefects for their first meeting of the year and James and Peter had both fallen asleep. Not really the best company if you asked me.   
Peter’s head was lolling to the side as he snored gently, whereas James was lying sprawled across two seats, his legs curled up and his mouth slightly open. I had to fight really hard not to prank him when he was looking so sweet and innocent, contemplating transfiguring some of the sweets into something really disgusting and shoving it into his mouth. True, I was not exactly supposed to do magic on the train but when had that ever stepped me before. The only reason why I finally decided against it was the fact that it was mostly my fault that James was so tired, as I had kept him awake most of the night because of my nightmares. Poor bastard deserved a medal anyway for putting up with my sulky arse all of the time.   
Sighing, I shifted around on my seat and glanced at the girl across from me. Once again, she was looking out of the window, seemingly watching the sky.   
“What are you staring at all the time? The sky?”   
Very briefly, her eyes darted to meet mine before she looked away again. I had not really expected an answer, which is why her barely audible “yes” took me by surprise.   
“Well, what’s so fascinating about it?” I looked at the sky as well. It was still light out, meaning we still had quite a bit of time left to go until we would finally reach our destination. A few clouds dotted the mostly blue grey sky but apart from that, I could spot nothing out of the ordinary.  
“Everything.” Once again, her voice was barely a murmur and she didn’t even look at me while replying. But hey, she did give me an answer for once. Twice no, actually.  
“Care to elaborate?” This time the only answer I got was a shake of her head.   
“C’mon. Tell me.” No reaction. Oh, great. She was back to ignoring me. Well, this time I wouldn’t let it happen. I was way too bored and whether I wanted to admit it or not, this girl intrigued me.   
I leant forward a little bit, my eyes firmly resting on her face.   
“I won’t leave you alone until you tell me. We’ve still got a few hours left to go so unless you want me to bug the shit out of you for the remainder of the ride, just answer my question.”   
With a sigh, she turned her head and looked at me.   
“Why do you care?”   
Shrugging, I leaned back again. “Honestly? I’m bored. My friends are either gone or asleep and I don’t know what to do with myself.”   
“Ever tried reading a book or something?” There was a bit of sarcastic tone to her voice, which actually managed to make me smile.   
“Careful there, tiger. Your claws are beginning to show. The only one who’s allowed to sass me and get away with it is out dear Remy.”   
She rolled her eyes but once again, her lips were twitching slightly, a fact, which did not go unnoticed by me.   
“So, what’s so fascinating about the sky then? And don’t say everything again.”   
Echo shifted her gaze towards the window again. “Have you ever really looked at it?”  
I raised my eyebrows in question. “What do you mean? Of course, I have. I means it’s there literally all the time.”   
“I don’t mean just glancing at it for a second to judge what to wear for the day. When I say looking at it, I mean really looking! Like more than for a couple of seconds. Try it.”  
I stared at her for a second, my eyebrows nearly hitting my hairline. As she didn’t meet my gaze, I threw my hands in surrender and obeyed.  
“What am I supposed to be looking at?”  
“You’re not the patient sort, are you?” For the first time, I could hear a hint of a smile in her voice.   
“Nope, not really. So, what am I supposed to be looking at. It’s the sky. Like I said before, it’s there all the time. Nothing ground-breaking about that.”   
“Yes, well, you’re only seeing the big picture. Sometimes, it takes more than just one quick look to see everything that’s there. Sometimes, the true beauty of things is hidden in the details. And most of the time, those details are not that easy to spot. Yes, the sky is there all the time but it’s never, literally never the same. Something is always different, even if it just a minor detail. If you only glance away for the span of one second, the sky that will meet your eyes will be different from the one you saw before. Just look at that big cloud over there, the big one, hovering over the mountains in the distance. The one shaped like a walrus?”   
“The one shaped like a what?”   
“A walrus. Don’t you see it? There’s the head and the body… doesn’t matter. The point is, the cloud is moving.”   
“Duh.”   
“Do you want me to explain or not?”   
I raised my hands in mock-surrender, grinning at the dark look she had thrown my way. “Go on. I’ll shut up.”  
“I doubt it.” She shook her head. “Well, whatever. So, focus on that particular cloud for a moment, ok? Remember its shape.”   
I obeyed, my eyes fixed on that particular cloud. Now that I was looking at it more closely, I could see why she had said that it looked like a walrus. Even though, I disagreed.   
“Looks more like a charging boar to me, if you ask me”, I muttered.   
“You think?”   
“Yeah… hang on, no. It has shifted a bit, now it looks more like… a horse… or maybe a unicorn.”   
When I glanced at her, I nearly jumped in surprise at the sight of the light smile on her face. She was actually looking at me for once and smiling.   
“See? That is exactly what I was talking about. The clouds are changing all the time, every single second. And if you truly look at them, you can see those shapes. It might not be the most interesting pastime ever but well, if there is nothing better to do.”   
Her voice trailed off and once again, she was staring out of the window again absentmindedly. She seemed so lost to the world that I jumped a bit when she finally spoke up again, her voice soft and barely audible.   
“Besides… like you said, the sky is always there. Whatever happens, it will always be there. It’s the one thing you can always count on. And its constant changing shows that the world is actually turning, that a night is always followed by a morning; by a new chance. I don’t know about you but I consider that a comforting thought. “   
Looking over at her, I registered the faraway look in her eyes. I had never thought about it like that, but in a way, she was right.   
I was just about to reply, when a light chuckle cut me off. My eyes fell on James, who was still sprawled across the seat, but now his eyes were open and his lips pulled into a smirk.   
“Why, why. Not only did you actually get her to talk, Padfoot, you’ve even made her get all philosophical on you. Is that how you get your girls? By watching the clouds with them? How cute!” He ruffled his hair, grinning at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.   
I loved my best friend with all my heart but right now, I wanted to hit him. I quickly cast a look at Echo and found her staring at James as well, with the same unreadable expression in her eyes that she had been wearing before. But whereas I had had the feeling that just a few seconds ago, she had actually opened up to me a little, I could practically see a wall going up between us again as her face slipped back into the expressionless mask she tried so hard to uphold. Damn Prongs and his loose mouth.   
Without a single word, Echo whipped her head back around, grabbed her hood and pulled it back up. Leaning back, she closed her eyes, ignoring us.


End file.
